IT is the biggest and best punting week of the year - but it can also prove the ultimate heartbreaker.
There is quite simply nothing like Cheltenham Festival for thrills, spills and everything else in between.
With 28 races over four days, big changes to this year's meeting and hundreds of horses to sift through, it can be overwhelming.
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That's not to mention the huge number of runners entered in several contests - as if to make things harder!
Fortunately, our man Steve Mullen aka Templegate has years of experience.
Below, he write his five top tips for finding a winner at Cheltenham… and highlights the surprising thing you should avoid.
Don't forget, get his tips before everyone else by joining Members Enclosure for just £1 for the first month.
Templegate will reveal his selections there first so you can get on at the best prices.
Now, onto those winners…
1 LOOK FOR COURSE AND DISTANCE WINNERS
You would have made a healthy profit over the past five Festivals just backing ANY horse that had won over the course and distance - even if there was more than one in the race.
You can see course and distance winners as they have CD next to their name on the racecard, so keep your eyes peeled.
2 FOLLOW JOCKEY PAUL TOWNEND
Irish champion jockey Paul Townend gets the pick of top trainer Willie Mullins’ runners.
He has an impressive 20 per cent win record at the Festival and you would have made good profits backing all his mounts.
3 NO MORE THAN FOUR RUNS THIS SEASON
In the many Grade 1 races at the Festival, make sure you ignore horses who have run five or more times this season.
Silks - to identify which jockey is on which horse.
3 - the number of the horse. You can find this on their saddle cloth.
Lady In The Park - the horse's name.
t1 - This part of the racecard shows what headgear a horse is wearing. t1 means the horse is wearing a tongue tie and it is their first time doing so, while p means cheekpieces and the 1 means, again, it is their first time wearing them.
Some punters will look to these to gain an edge. Especially b, which stands for blinkers.
Often a horse wearing first-time headgear can improve because they are meant to sharpen their concentration.
J - jockey. In this case P Wadge.
If there is a number next to the jockey's name it means they have an allowance because they are a conditional or apprentice rider.
This is the weight they are allowed to take off compared to other more experienced jockeys and will be between 3lbs and 10lbs.
T - trainer. In this case Lucinda Russell.
Form - where the horse has finished on its past few runs. If there is a 0 it means the horse finished outside the first nine.
The dash between the seven and three indicates a break due to the end of the season.
If it is a slash like so / then it means the horse was out due to injury.
If a number is replaced by a letter it means the following - UR - unseated rider. F - fell. RR - refused to race. BD - brought down. RO - run out. PU - pulled up.
Age - the horse's age.
Weight - the weight a horse will carry in the race. This is the total amount they will carry including the jockey and is vital information in a handicap race.
OR - official rating. This is a measure of how good a horse is and is dished out by the handicapper.
Forecast SP - what the horse's starting price (SP) is estimated to be.
Odds - the current live odds are shown on the right.
None of the past 50 to try won and only a couple of them were even placed.
4 WATCH THE GREEN AND GOLD SILKS
Owner JP McManus has the famous green and gold hooped colours that have enjoyed lots of success at the Festival.
Over the past 10 years, he has had an amazing 36 winners at the meeting including an impressive five last season.
He has a strong team this time too, headlined by the likes of Jonbon, Majborough… and the totally unexposed Kopeck De Mee.
5 LOOK OUT FOR LEOPARDSTOWN
Horses that ran at the Dublin Racing Festival at Leopardstown in early February have a good Festival record.
Look out for runners who were in the first four there last time as that stat gave us nine of the Festival winners last season.
AND ONE THING NOT TO DO…
He may be the king of Cheltenham but don’t just back anything Willie Mullins runs.
Despite him having sent out more than 100 winners at the Festival, he fires lots of darts.
You would be £158 DOWN to £1 SP (starting price) blindly backing all his runners so be selective.
A responsible gambler is someone who:
Find our detailed guide on responsible gambling practices here.
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